Bear cubs at Ramona Wildlife Center get into the fall spirit with giant pumpkin

A 467-pound pumpkin was donated and delivered by an Escondido couple to a pair of orphaned bear cubs at the San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center, officials said Tuesday.

The pumpkin stopped growing in September, and the couple delivered it to the wildlife center Sunday, where a project wildlife team moved it into to the bear enclosure the next day.

Wildlife center officials said the pumpkin has provided fall-themed enrichment for the two bear cubs, who have been in care at the facility since July after they were found next to their deceased mother in the San Bernardino Mountains.

At 5-months-old, the cubs were too young to survive on their own, as black bear cubs typically need to stay with their mother for up to 17 months.

The project wildlife team said they hope to return the bears to the wild early next year.